


Welcome to the Keep

by Burgie



Series: WillowxAlex AU [4]
Category: Star Stable Online
Genre: Gen, Halloween
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-11-02
Updated: 2018-11-02
Packaged: 2019-08-16 18:03:48
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 4,305
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/16500146
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Burgie/pseuds/Burgie
Summary: Elsa finds out where her boyfriend was last year and takes her friends to visit him. I'll add who the characters belong to later but only Louisa is mine, the rest aside from Galloper belong to my friends.





	Welcome to the Keep

It was almost a tradition, at this point. Every year, towards the end of October, Elsa Seadawn (or Race to her friends) came to Goldenleaf Forest, rugged up slightly against the fall chill in the air, riding her trusty Halloween steed of the year or Hollow Phantom, the Jorvik Wild Horse that Galloper Thompson had gifted her one year. This year, it was a vibrant blue mane before her eyes as Elsa waited in the middle of the forest. And she waited. And waited. As the golden leaves swirled around her, the golden mist, thicker here in the forest, didn't let her see much of anything. Though, she knew from past experience that she wouldn't see him first. Instead, she would hear him. Hear that snarl, that scream, that pounding of Ichabod's hooves. Though, she might see the flame of the torch that he always held, or the flame of Ichabod's eyes.

Last year, though she'd waited here every night until her own exhaustion had forced her to return home, Galloper had not shown up. A few times, Elsa had heard him. But nothing more. And, as the hours passed, it seemed that this year would be much the same. Elsa tried not to feel too disappointed. Maybe Galloper just didn't like the crowds, maybe he was busy with something else. She couldn't blame him, some of her friends were introverts too. But still...

The sound of a snarl accompanied by galloping hooves made Elsa's heart skip a beat, her head snapping up. Her horse looked up from grazing, too, giving a nicker.

"You heard that too?" Elsa asked, her heart pounding. Sparks started forward in answer, Elsa keeping him at a walk so that they wouldn't accidentally go past Galloper. If he was here, which she dearly hoped that he was. The sound came again, and Elsa noticed that it was leading her in a direction. Almost like echolocation, only it was neither her nor her horse who was making the sound. Her heart thumped in her chest as she got closer, the odd urge to look nice for him flitting through her. But, again, she had to laugh at her mind's stupid thoughts. Galloper had no head, he wouldn't be able to see her. Certainly wouldn't be able to kiss her. Theirs was an unconventional relationship, to be sure. But she didn't love him any less for it.

The sound eventually led Elsa to a cluster of bushes against the side of the forest where a cliffside abruptly cut off all access. She continued forward carefully, straining her ears for any sign of her ghostly suitor. But she couldn't hear anything other than the soft sound of the wind shushing through the leaves of the trees. Elsa sighed, her hopes dashed once more. Maybe Galloper wasn't a very good boyfriend after all.

"Stood up again," said Elsa after several minutes of only the sounds of the forest. Sparks seemed disappointed, too, lowering his head to graze once more. Fed up, Elsa dismounted, marching into the yellow-leaved bushes and ignoring the way that they tugged at her clothing. She pushed aside some of the larger branches, too. She looked around, hoping for any sign of her beloved. Flaming hoofprints, any hoofprints belonging to a large mare, heck, she'd even take ichor or ectoplasm at this point. Just something to show that he'd physically been here, that it hadn't just been someone playing a recording of his voice just to get her hopes up for nothing. Or maybe he'd been trying to reach through the worlds? Maybe he wasn't able to cross over for some reason?

The sight of a pale yellow envelope stopped Elsa's thoughts immediately. She crouched down, picking it up where a small vine had held it down to the ground. It smelled faintly of sulphur, not an altogether pleasant smell. And yet, it still made her heart skip a beat. Sulphur was one of the most common signs of ghosts. And the sight of her name, scrawled in elegant script on the front of the envelope, made her smile. She flipped the envelope over, surprised to find a red wax seal with the shape of a flaming horseshoe pressed into it. Part of Elsa didn't want to break the seal, but she tried to slide her thumb under the wax seal so as to not break it. And fortunately, it didn't take too much damage as she opened the envelope.

Inside was a letter, which Elsa pulled out. She was surprised that Galloper could even write, not possessing any eyes with which to see, but, well, maybe there was some magic at work here.

To my Elsa,

I apologise for neglecting to meet with you last year. Know that I missed you dearly. This year, I am also unable to visit your realm, much as I would dearly love to. The light-wardens, those Keepers of Aideen, the druids, have strengthened their wards, rendering me unable to visit your realm. It saddens me to be without you so.

However, during my absence, I discovered a way to allow travel to my dimension. Though I cannot set foot (or hoof) onto Jorvik, I can at least allow you to set foot in my dimension without dying or suffering terribly.

All around Jorvik, I have created portals. With the aid of a friend, a rather curious little fellow named Krangle, I have even erected stone doorways around these portals, lit with torches so that you will always be able to find them. Should you wish to, I would very much like it if you would visit me. Of course, feel free to bring your friends.

Your headless (but not heartless) beloved,

Galloper Thompson

After reading (and rereading) the letter, Elsa placed the letter back inside of the envelope and walked out of the bushes grinning. Her horse looked at her, ears pricked in curiosity.

"Well, I didn't find him, but I know how to find him," said Elsa as she placed the envelope carefully in her jacket pocket and swung up into her saddle. "Let's go find a portal."

It didn't take much searching for Elsa to discover a portal. It was on the Goldenleaf Stables beach, facing the water. Sitting atop her horse in front of it, Elsa felt the hairs on her arms rise as her heart picked up speed. The feeling here was the one that she got whenever she was nearby Galloper.

"I hope this doesn't break my phone," said Elsa as she got her phone out of her pocket. She snapped a photo of the portal, happy to see that it didn't cause her phone to shatter or turn black or bleed or something, and sent it to the group chat. Again, nothing bad happened, the photo sent and some of her friends reacted to it.

"What's that?" Willow typed.

"A portal to the place where Galloper lives" Elsa replied.

"Ooh. Going to see your boyfriend?" Eden typed.

"You know it" Elsa replied. "You can get there through any of the portals that look like this, apparently they're scattered all over the island."

"Cool. I'm gonna go find one" Daine typed.

"I'll come, don't want you getting hurt" Louisa typed. Elsa smiled, seeing her friends chatter to each other. She slipped her phone back into her pocket, ignoring the buzzing of the active group chat as she sat back in her saddle and stared down the portal.

Stepping through the portal wasn't entirely like stepping through the portal into Pandoria. And yet, it was also just a little like that. Reality seemed to warp around Elsa, the hairs on her arms and the back of her neck still standing up. She shivered once she appeared on the other side, the ground solidifying under her. It looked a lot like the ground in the Stonecutters Vault. But she only looked at the ground for a moment before her attention, every fibre of her being, was caught by a sound from in front of her.

Across a wooden bridge that looked rather rickety, on what looked to be for all the world like a floating island, Elsa could see a large... well, keep was the word for it, she supposed. Constructed all of dark stone, towering into the sky, but it looked broken. Half-destroyed. As though something terribly bad had happened here. And part of her wanted to find out what had happened, find out the history of this place. But then, she saw who was there, and she could only grin.

On the top floor of the Keep, Galloper was rising from his horse, floating up into the air. He reached a height, and then flew down towards Elsa. He stopped in front of her, reaching a hand out for her horse first. Elsa smiled as she watched Sparks nuzzle Galloper's green hand, greeting his previous owner. And then, Galloper walked around beside the horse, stopping beside Elsa. Elsa smiled down at him, her heart lifting in her chest. Even without a head, Galloper was still the most handsome man that Elsa had ever met.

"So this is your home, huh?" said Elsa. Galloper gave her a thumbs-up, spreading his arm out to encompass the entire area. He stepped out in front of her horse again, gesturing for Elsa to follow. And she did, feeling every part of her fill with joy at the knowledge that she was finally setting foot in Galloper's real domain. Not the one that he'd taken her to that first time they'd met, either, but a fully-fledged place. He even lived in a Keep. Maybe he was actually royalty. Elsa couldn't help but smile at the idea that she might become the queen of whatever this place was. It was certainly nice enough.

By the time that the portal spat out the motley crue of a dozen or so of Elsa's newfound friends, Elsa had taken her place at Galloper's side, overlooking everything down below.

"Hey, guys!" said Elsa, grinning as she waved down at them. "Welcome to the keep!"

As a group, Elsa's friends crossed the bridge, trying not to fall off it too many times. Which meant that Daine and Willow managed to shove each other off, Louisa accidentally fell off (though she had Trouble with her, so was it really an accident?), Roo jumped off, and everyone else crossed the bridge like regular human beings. Jaime and Sparks, the latest additions to the group, immediately headed for one of the two portals that led to racetracks, wanting to investigate them. Fortunately, though, those that fell off were teleported back onto solid ground thanks to the magic of Jorvegian physics, apparently still at work even here in another realm.

"I'm going to jump in the cauldron," Daine announced once the group had gathered inside the keep.

"Why?" Willow and Lousia both said flatly.

"Do a cannonball," said Roo.

"Skinny-dip," said Ariana. Louisa sighed, shaking her head and going to stand beside Viktor while Daine dismounted and then backed up a few steps to take a running leap into the cauldron.

"Race, is that dangerous?" Eden called up to her friend. As soon as she finished her question, though, Daine splashed into the cauldron, splashing a few of the closer people with the hot green liquid within.

"Uh, I don't think so?" said Elsa.

"Well, it's too late now, anyway," said Willow.

The cauldron rumbled, the ground rumbling along with it. A few of the horses shifted their hooves uncomfortably, Viktor's horse Phantom pinning his ears and Trouble looking mutinous. Lion looked like he was about ready to faint. But then, the rumbling ceased and the cauldron spat out Daine, shooting him into the wall on the upper floor. Daine cackled as he fell to the ground in a wet green heap.

"My turn!" Roo declared, dismounting her horse and running up to the cauldron.

"Is he okay?" Viktor asked, glancing at Louisa.

"He's fine," said Louisa, glad but also annoyed. Daine knew she could feel everyone's pain, and yet. He was an asshole.

"Alright, that settles it," said Ariana, dismounting Lion. Her horse took his chance and bolted, ending up hiding behind the keep. She pulled her top off, to which everyone averted their eyes.

"I'm going outside," said Louisa, turning Trouble away from the sight of the cauldron before he could get any ideas.

"There's no roof, so technically, we're already outside," said Roo. Louisa waved her hand at the technicality.

Willow joined Louisa and Viktor, clearly not wanting any part of the cauldron business.

"Got any plans for the party tonight?" Willow asked as she rode alongside them.

"You mean apart from taking the entire day tomorrow off to relax after having so many people over? Not really," said Louisa, shrugging.

“Do you need any help with the preparations?” Willow asked. The three of them rode a little around the outside of the keep, Louisa being careful to stick closest to the wall so that Trouble wouldn’t get any ideas.

“I think I’ve got it handled,” said Louisa. “I’m going to go by Jorvik City once I leave here and do some shopping.”

“Cool,” said Willow, nodding. “And music and decorations and stuff?”

“Um…” Louisa trailed off, suddenly uncertain. Willow nodded.

“Maybe volunteering to throw the party was a bad idea for a non-American,” said Willow. “No offense.”

“We can handle it,” said Viktor, riding close to his friend.

“I hope so,” said Louisa. “Because now I’m uncertain.”

“Well, if you need any advice, you have plenty of American friends,” said Willow. “And an American girlfriend.”

“That’s true,” said Viktor.

“Yeah,” said Louisa, a smile gracing her lips as she sat up a little straighter in Trouble’s saddle. “I’ve got this.”

And then Trouble saw a ghost. Instantly, her horse’s ‘calm’ demeanor changed, his ears going back as he began to back up.

“Oh no,” said Louisa, trying to get a hold of her horse. But no matter what she did with her reins and feet, nothing worked.

“Maybe it’s time to run?” Willow suggested.

“Yep,” said Louisa, quickly dismounting her rebellious horse. She almost rolled her ankle but Viktor reached down and grabbed her wrist. Just in time, too, because Trouble wheeled around with a neigh and bolted, somehow keeping on the ground and not falling.

“Well, there goes your ride,” said Willow as Trouble bolted across the bridge and leaped through the portal.

“Yep,” said Louisa, sighing. “Oh well. I guess I can explore on foot. Thanks for catching me, Vik.” She pulled away from her friend, walking ahead of the group. Not that there was much in the group, everyone else was either jumping in the cauldron or otherwise goofing off. They passed more ghosts, but Louisa wasn’t frightened. Sure, some ghosts did sound angry, some even stomping around, but they were only ghosts. They hadn’t hurt Trouble.

Willow was similarly unphased, though Viktor looked a little scared or solemn at times. Louisa wondered, for a brief moment, if he was looking for his mother among the ghosts. She probably would be, in his situation.

But then, the group came upon a picnic setup, picnic blankets strewn with books and cushions and food.

“Well, this is cosy,” said Louisa, taking a seat on one of the pillows. Her friends dismounted as well, sitting with her.

“If Daine ends up falling into the bonfire, do not heal him,” said Willow.

“It’s kind of hard to not heal someone when you can feel their pain, though,” said Louisa.

“Fair, I guess,” said Willow, shrugging.

The three of them chatted around the campfire for a while, the two remaining horses behaving themselves and quietly grazing. That was probably why Willow had taken Rebel, not wanting Jade to be… well… Jade.

“Let’s look up ideas,” said Willow, getting her phone out. Louisa was glad to see her friend so relaxed, she knew that Willow had been struggling lately with everything. They’d all been struggling, really, it was a difficult time to be a druid or a Soul Rider.

“I’ve done that already,” said Louisa, stretching out to lie down beside Willow. Viktor stretched out on the other side of Louisa, the three of them looking at Willow’s phone that Louisa had.

“I’m glad that we don’t have to worry about anything showing up in your browser history,” said Louisa.

“This is why we’re using my phone,” said Willow. Louisa and Viktor both shrugged, not denying anything.

“Alright, so, ideas,” said Willow, navigating to her Pinstasnap app. She’d made a Halloween board, which Louisa was happy to see.

“There’s a lot of pumpkins,” said Viktor.

“It’s the aesthetic,” said Willow. “Pumpkin everything back in the states.”

“Man, I wish Lisa had come along,” said Louisa.

“Same,” said Willow, nodding. “And Alex. But the Soul Riders are busy with important stuff so who are we to interrupt them?”

“It better not be just the office Halloween party or whatever,” said Viktor. Louisa nodded.

“At least they’re allowed to come to the party tonight,” said Louisa.

“That is a bonus,” said Willow. “I need my date.”

“That you do,” said Viktor.

The sound of dripping and soggy hoofsteps announced new visitors, a dapple grey Lusitano joining the other horses while Daine, still fully clothed and absolutely saturated, flopped down beside Willow, splattering her with the green gunk from the cauldron.

“If you shake your head, I swear to god I’ll drop a rock on your house,” said Willow without even looking at her friend.

“Cauldron’s fun,” said Daine. He poked Louisa’s calf muscle, prompting her to pull her leg away. “You should try it.”

“No thanks, I just washed my hair,” said Willow.

“Doesn’t look like it,” said Daine. He rolled away, avoiding a punch, but he couldn’t avoid the grass roots that suddenly wrapped around his ankle and yanked him towards the edge of the cliff. Louisa and Viktor both watched, very amused, as Daine yelped and scrabbled at the ground. “Alright, fine, sorry!”

“Sup, losers,” said Ariana, flopping down beside Viktor. She was wearing nothing but underwear, which was currently soaked through with the green cauldron stuff. In short, she looked as inappropriate as ever.

“Please put some clothes on,” said Willow, her hands over her eyes. Released from the grass root, Daine crawled back over to the picnic spots, sitting by the fire.

“Hi,” said Roo, showing up in the same state as Ariana. Her red ponytail was slicked down her back, looking more dark brown than red. Willow rubbed her temples.

Slowly, the rest of the group joined them, Izzy and Jay coming over after investigating the keep along with Eden and Ali.

“Race not coming?” Willow asked.

“She’s busy with her boyfriend,” said Eden.

“We weren’t allowed to bring our boyfriends, how come she is?” Daine asked.

“Technically she didn’t bring him, he was already here,” said Louisa. “Besides, you get to see your boyfriend every day, she gets to see hers once a year if she’s lucky.”

“Yeah, Daine, don’t be a dick,” said Willow, flicking him with a small rock. Daine ignored it.

“What are we doing for this party?” Roo asked, joining Daine at the fire in an attempt to dry herself. “And should I bring booze?”

“Maybe not,” said Daine.

“I mean, you can bring your own, but I won’t be supplying any,” said Louisa. “Just a house and food and good tunes and non-alcoholic beverages.”

“I’ll bring some,” said Jay.

“My man,” said Roo, reaching over and high-fiving him.

“Same,” said Eden, nodding.

“I’ll just be in the kitchen,” said Louisa. “Making food and hiding from everyone.”

“An introverted host maybe wasn’t the best idea,” said Viktor.

“I blame all of you,” said Louisa, spreading her arm out to encompass the group at large.

“You’re the mum friend, you’re great at being in charge,” said Daine.

“If you say so,” said Louisa.

“I believe in you,” said Viktor, patting her back. Louisa smiled at him.

“Thanks,” said Louisa.

“Need any ideas?” Emma asked, joining them.

“I might also be able to help,” said Ella, stepping off the rock that she’d floated there on. Richard floated past on another rock, giving a whinny of uncertainty.

“Oh good, the Americans have arrived,” said Louisa. She got her phone out, ready to take down ideas. “Teach me how to Halloween.”

“Pumpkin carving,” said Ella.

“Apple bobbing,” said Emma.

“Yes,” said Daine, his eyes as bright as his grin.

“No, that’s gross,” said Willow.

“For horses, then?” Ella asked.

“Yeah, that works,” said Louisa, nodding.

“Make one for humans too,” said Daine.

“Alright, fine, but don’t come to me when you’re sick,” said Willow.

“Of course I won’t, you’re not the healer,” said Daine. “I’ll go to Louisa.”

“I feel sorry for you sometimes,” said Viktor, looking at his friend.

“It could be worse,” said Louisa.

“True,” said Eden.

“Let’s talk food,” said Emma. “How many pumpkin recipes do you know?”

“Quite a lot,” said Louisa. “Lisa introduced me to the wonders of pumpkin everything.”

“Pumpkin everything?” Viktor asked.

“I’ll teach you how to cook some things,” said Louisa. “We’ll hash out some more ideas and then dip out early, I think.”

“Hash?” Viktor asked, echoed by Daine.

“No,” said Louisa, looking sternly at both of them.

Now, the group chatted about how to make the party great while Ariana, Daine, and Roo dried by the fire. Their clothes and hair became stiff from the drying gunk, to much jokes that Willow glared at.

“Question,” said Willow. “When you guys leave to go start getting stuff ready, can I come?”

“I think that’d be best for your own sanity, if nothing else,” said Louisa.

“That’s my thought too,” said Willow, nodding.

At last, with the help of the few Americans present, Louisa managed to come up with a solid plan for the night. First, the food would need to be cooked, cookies that would be frosted to look like pumpkins and various other spooky things, food that resembled spooky things like eyeball grapes and wormy mousse, jelly holding various Halloween candies. And of course, pumpkin everything. There would even be a pumpkin pie, and bowls of candy. Also extra hidden ones for the trick or treaters.

“Do we all have our costumes ready?” Louisa asked. “Maybe we should go over them to make sure nobody’s coming in the same outfit as everyone else.”

“It’s not the end of the world if someone has the same outfit as someone else,” said Viktor.

“Yes it is,” said Louisa. “And I need to figure out some themed cups and plates for each costume. I’m going as Blake Belladonna from RWBY and Lisa will be Ilia, the girl crushing on Blake.”

“Oh, damn,” said Eden. “I was going to go as Blake and Alonso would be Sun.” Louisa gasped, for once faking offense.

“Zeal,” said Louisa, her hand on her heart. “How can you ship Blacksun?”

“Oh no,” said Eden, her eyes growing huge. “Then we can no longer be friends.” They stared at each other for a moment and then burst into laughter, causing a few raised eyebrows. “Only kidding, I’ll go as Cinder and Alonso can be Torchwick.”

“Good,” said Louisa. “We were going to be Blake and Yang but Lisa admitted that she doesn’t have the boobs for it.”

“Daine might,” said Ariana, winking. Daine glared at her, clearly fighting the urge to push her into the fire.

“What are you going as anyway, Daine?” Louisa asked.

“Vampire,” said Daine.

“Thought you’d go as a cat,” said Ariana.

“I really wish I could push you into the fire right now,” said Daine.

“What are you going as, Ariana?” Louisa asked to defuse the tension before someone ended up falling into the campfire.

“Slutty nun,” said Ariana.

“Are we surprised?” Willow asked drily.

“Are you going as a prude, then?” Ariana asked. Willow tensed, then took in a deep breath. She looked up at Louisa.

“Can we go now?” Willow asked. “Before something bad happens?”

“Not yet, I need to find out what everyone’s wearing,” said Louisa.

“Mine can be a surprise,” said Viktor.

“That’s fine,” said Louisa.

“Witch,” said Ali.

“Golden trophy wife,” said Izzy.

“Corpse bride,” said Willow, referencing a conversation they’d had in the group chat a while ago. Louisa nodded, smiling at the fact that Willow had remembered and liked her suggestion.

“Will Alex be the corpse Groom?” Louisa asked.

“I think she’s got another idea, actually,” said Willow. “You’ll see when we get there.”

“Pirate,” said Roo.

“Great, nobody’s got any matching costumes except for Daine and Jamie,” said Louisa once everyone had supplied their answer. “And now I can personalise the cups and things.”

“Cups?” Daine asked.

“Drink spiking is very serious business,” said Louisa. She got up, brushing grass from her. “Alright, let’s go, you two.” While the other two got up and got their horses, Louisa stepped inside of the Keep. “Elsa, are you coming to the party?”

“Yeah, we’ll- wait, actually.” She paused. “I might come. Maybe. Galloper can’t leave his realm, the druids locked him out.”

“Oh, is that why he didn’t show up last year?” Louisa asked. “Or this year?”

“Yeah,” said Elsa, nodding.

“Fucking druids,” said Daine. Louisa and Viktor nodded in agreement, though a few of the others looked a bit uncomfortable.

“Need a ride?” Willow asked, stopping Rebel beside Louisa.

“Yeah, let’s go find a troublemaker,” said Louisa with a sigh. She climbed up behind Willow, giving an apologetic glance to Viktor. It wasn’t that she didn’t trust Phantom, she was just wary around him. He was a good horse, but she didn’t want to frighten him or anything. But Viktor didn’t seem to mind, following them out of that area and back to their home realm.


End file.
